Cundall expands leadership team with promotion of three new partners

Multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, Cundall, has announced the appointment of three new Partners within its global leadership team as it moves into 2021. The addition of Barbara Sacha in London, Alex Carter in Birmingham and Lee French in Dubai, brings the number of Partners in the business to 47, strengthening its existing leadership team, and paving the way for continued growth in the year ahead.

Commenting on these additions to Cundall’s leadership team, Tomás Neeson, Managing Partner at Cundall, said:

“I’m very pleased to welcome Barbara, Alex and Lee as Partners in the business and as part of the global leadership team. They are extremely talented individuals, who work hard to inspire and lead our teams, and I look forward to their input as we work together to continue growing our global practice. All three are part of the growth plans for our global business and bring huge strength to their main areas of focus.”

Based in Cundall’s London office, Barbara Sacha joined the business in 2017 as an Associate in the Critical Systems team, quickly rising through the ranks with a promotion to Associate Director in 2019.

Barbara has been leading the Design Management Group dedicated to major critical systems projects, having herself delivered several large-scale data centre projects across Europe. Barbara has taken one of the lead roles in managing the growing Critical Systems sector within Cundall focussing on project delivery, management of key client accounts, business development and team and capabilities growth.

Barbara is a highly qualified Chartered Mechanical Engineer and, prior to joining Cundall, she spent 10 years of her career in the Middle East having worked on major projects across various sectors in both design and contracting fields.

Alex Carter has a lead role managing Cundall’s structures team and providing support and mentoring to colleagues throughout Cundall’s global business. When he joined Cundall as Associate Director in 2016, Alex had spent most of his career working across the globe, and this experience delivering projects with different cultural considerations has prepared him for working in Cundall’s Singapore and Dubai offices, as well as in Birmingham where he is based.

In the 18 months prior to his promotion to Partner, Alex has led the delivery of projects both local and globally, helping to grow the Birmingham Structures team in the local market and particularly bringing his extensive experience of tall buildings to the Birmingham market. Alex also demonstrates the importance of agile and cross-cultural working in the delivery of projects in other regions.

Lee French has been promoted to Partner and also has the position of Operations Director for the MENA business. Lee has been with Cundall for almost 20 years having joined the Newcastle office as an apprentice. He has worked on many of Cundall’s large and prestigious global projects as well as spending a few years based in Qatar. He started at the age of 16 as an apprentice Civil Engineer and has worked his way up through the business based on his unique blend of hard work, commitment, integrity and empathy.

Lee is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Chartered Construction Manager and is a champion of innovative, sustainable approaches in building infrastructure. His outstanding commitment and contribution to Cundall make him one of the key leaders of the Middle Eastern business.

Tomás Neeson continued:

“I have worked with Lee since he joined the practice as an apprentice, and he has shone at every stage of his career. He is a key part of a very strong leadership team that we now have in the Middle East and will keep driving Cundall in the right direction in the region.

“Alex has worked across the global business since joining. His experience across markets has come at a perfect time for the local Birmingham market as it continues its recent success with projects with inspirational architecture and tall buildings. Alex is taking the best of UK structural engineering to the world and bringing his experiences back to the whole UK market. Alex has also taken the lead on our Project Management Initiative, which is practice wide.

“Barbara has made a massive impact on the business since joining, not only adding to the leadership in the critical systems sector but also developing our design management abilities. Barbara has worked closely with Alex, Lee and a wider team to review and improve our internal project management. She leads by example and is an inspiration to all who work with her.”

Cundall operates as a UK-registered Limited Liability Partnership wholly owned by the Partners – all of whom have a hands-on role in the management of the business and the projects they are commissioned to deliver.